THE COACHES: WSU - Mike Price (Puget Sound '69) has a 67-73-0 (.479) record at WSU in 13 years and a career mark of 113-117-0 (.491) in 22 seasons at Weber State (1981-88, 46-44-0) and WSU (1989-present). OREGON STATE - The Beavers are coached by Dennis Erickson, who has a 19-8 record in three years at OSU and a 132-48-1 career mark in 16 years, including two seasons when he was at WSU (1987-88) and had a 12-10-1 mark.

WSU VS. OREGON STATE: WSU leads the series 44-39-3 since the first game was played in 1903...the Cougars have taken the series lead thanks to a 17-4-1 record over the Beavers since 1975...included was a streak of 10 straight victories, 1983-93...OSU, meanwhile, has won the last two games, including a 27-13 win in Pullman two years ago and a 38-9 win last season in Corvallis.

HOMECOMING HISTORY: Washington State and Oregon State have met in the Cougars' Homecoming football game 21 times, with WSU winning 12 times and OSU nine...the two teams first met in WSU's Homecoming battle in 1924, with OSU taking home a 14-13 win...the last time the two teams met for Homecoming weekend was 1995, with the Cougs winning 40-14.

COUGS START FAST AT ARIZONA: WSU scored a school record 28 points against league foe, Arizona, in the first 8:03 of the game...WSU's first quarter high is 35 points against Louisiana-Lafayette in 1997, while the WSU record for points in the first quarter of a league game was 21 on several occasions.

COUGS BOAST STARTING EXPERIENCE: WSU returns 17 starters from last year and now boasts 36 players who have made 342 career starts, including games this year...the list includes:

NO CLOSE GAMES SO FAR: One of the goals this year for the Washington State football team is to turn the close losses of last season into wins in 2001...so far it is working, with the Cougs winning four games by an average margin of 27 points...the closest has been a 21-point win over Boise State...last year the outcome of seven of WSU's 11 games was determined by seven points or less, with the Cougars going 3-4 in those seven games, including three overtime losses...two of the close games last year were wins over Boise State and Cal and a triple-OT loss at Arizona, but none of those return games this year have been close.

McELRATH AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Nakoa McElrath, WSU's senior receiver, was held to two receptions for 24 yards at Arizona and is now ranked ninth nationally in receptions, 7.25 per game, and fourth in reception yards, 134.50 per game...in addition he is ranked tied for ninth, averaging 10.50 points per outing, and 35th in all-purpose running at 134.75 yards per game.

McELRATH COULD CHALLENGE WSU RECORDS: Nakoa McElrath, averaging 7.25 receptions per game and 134.50 yards per game, is on pace to set two Cougar single-season records...at his current pace of 80 receptions he would break Mike Levenseller's school record of 67 receptions... and at his current yardage average McElrath would total 1,482 yards, well above the school record of 1,151 by Timm Stallworth.

COUGAR RECEIVERS STEP UP: WSU's top four receivers, Nakoa McElrath, Mike Bush, Trandon Harvey and Jerome Riley, are putting up numbers that rival those of the Fab Five in 1997...through four games WSU's top four receivers have caught 61 passes for 1,236 yards...in 1997 the Fab Five had 64 receptions for 1,200 yards through four games...here's a look at game-by-game totals for this year's top receivers:

MIKE BUSH SHOWS FOOTBALL SKILLS: Junior Mike Bush, WSU's top basketball player who averaged 15.9 points and 5.2 rebounds last winter, is fast making a name for himself on the football field...Bush joined the Cougar receiver corps last spring and has started all four games...against Idaho Bush went 4/97, followed by Boise State 2/69 and one TD, California 5/144 and one TD and now Arizona 7/110 and one TD...Bush currently ranks tenth nationally and second in the Pac-10, averaging 105.0 receiving yards per game...the last significant football-basketball player for the Cougars was Kitrick Taylor, who started with the football team (1982-83-85-86) and then joined the basketball team (1985-87)...Paul Mencke also played both sports in 2000-01, although he never started a basketball game.

DOES FOUR WINS MEAN FIVE: The Cougars are 4-0 for the first time since 1997, the year WSU started the season with seven wins and won the Pac-10 title...here is what WSU has done with recent 4-0 starts:

1997 - Started the year 7-0 and went to the Rose Bowl
1992 - Started 6-0 and went to the Copper Bowl
1989 - Started 4-0 in Mike Price's first season at WSU
1981 - Started 5-0 and went to the Holiday Bowl...WSU's fifth win was 23-0 over Oregon State
1930 - Went 9-0, then lost to Alabama in the Rose Bowl

COUGS SHUT DOWN THE RUN: WSU has allowed just 275 net rushing yards in the first four games, 74 yards by the Idaho Vandals, 54 yards by the Boise Broncos, 71 by California and 76 by Arizona...WSU currently ranks 11th nationally allowing 68.75 yards per game...the last time WSU started the year holding the first four opponents to less than 100 yards was 1989: Idaho 82, BYU 71, OSU 56, Wyoming 26...in 1994 WSU had a string of five mid-season games when the opponents each had less than 100 yards rushing and in 1995 there was a string of four straight.

HENDERSON THE BEST QB?: Receiver Nakoa McElrath recently joked, when asked if Jason Gesser or Matt Kegel threw the best pass, "Collin Henderson"...small wonder...Henderson has completed all six passes in his three-year career for an amazing four touchdowns and 249 yards...that's a QB rating of 668.7...he completed one as a freshman in 1999 for 24 yards and a TD...last year he was 4-for-4 for 154 yards and two scores...last week he hooked up with McElrath on a 71-yard pass and run play for a TD.

RECORDS FALL IN CAL GAME: Two one-game records and one career mark fell during WSU's 51-20 win over California Sept. 22...they were:

Lamont Thompson picks off one Cal pass, the 15th interception of his career and a WSU record,

A school record three receivers each tally over 100 yards receiving, Nakoa McElrath 163, Mike Bush 144 and Jerome Riley 124,

WSU'S OVERTIME EXPERIENCE: The Cougars are 1-4 in overtime games...WSU played three overtime games last year and lost all three, including back-to-back OT losses at Arizona (3 OT) and at home against ASU (1 OT), plus a 1-OT loss to Oregon...in 1996, Washington beat WSU 31-24 in overtime in Pullman...WSU's other OT game was a 35-34 win over Arizona in 1997 in Pullman.

LAMONT THOMPSON HOLDS RECORD: Senior Lamont Thompson holds the WSU career interception record with 16 after picking off the record-setter against California Sept. 22....his career highlights include:

1997 - Made six interceptions, all in the last three games, to lead the Pac-10...equaled a school record three against Washington...played in 10 games, starting last four,1998 - Started all 11 games and had four interceptions all in the first four games...two against Idaho,1999 - Four interceptions in injury plagued season...played in 11 of 12 games,2000 - Redshirt season while recovering from neck injury,2001 - Has two picks this season...set career record with interception against Cal...had first TD return, 36 yards, at Arizona.

LONG DRIVES: WSU has had 21 scoring drives of 50 yards or longer, including seven in a win over California...six of those 21 drives have been 80 or longer, 13 70 or longer and 17 60 or longer...One drive at Arizona covered 87 yards in 18 plays and lasted 8:06, the longest time consuming drive in Mike Price's WSU tenure.

SCORING STREAKS: WSU currently has three significant scoring streaks on the line:

The Cougars have scored in 199 consecutive Pacific-10 games, the longest active streak for any league team...the last time WSU was shut out in Pac-10 play was at Oregon State in 1975,

WSU has scored in 193 consecutive games since a 44-0 shutout at Ohio State in 1984,

The Cougars have scored in 164 consecutive home games since a 21-0 loss to Oregon State in Pullman in 1956.

RED ZONE: WSU has been inside the opponent 20 yard line 23 times this year, scoring 122 points with 15 touchdowns and six field goals...opponents have scored 30 points in the red zone...here is WSU's red zone success since 1997:

NEWMAN COLLECTS 274 TACKLES: Billy Newman, WSU's senior safety has 274 career tackles to rank 12th on WSU's single season list...Newman is only nine tackles away from Steve Gleason, ninth on the list with his 282 tackles, 1973-77...Newman made 45 tackles as a freshman, led WSU in 1999 with 105, then tacked on 100 more last year to again lead the Cougars...he also has six career interceptions...if he records 100 tackles this season he will finish with 350 career tackles and rank fourth...the school record holder is Lee Blakeney with 524...Newman could have more tackles than any non-linebacker in WSU history.

BREAKING DOWN TOP 22-44: Against OSU the Cougars' starting lineup of 22 players will include 1 freshman, 6 sophomores, 7 juniors and 8 seniors, while the top 44 (two-deep) consisted of 9 freshmen, 11 sophomores, 13 juniors and 11 seniors...in the two-deep, WSU lists 20 freshmen and sophomores and 24 juniors and seniors...the breakdown:

MINNICH TOPS 100 YARDS FOR A SIXTH TIME: Senior Dave Minnich topped the 100-yard rushing total four times last season and twice this season, the first a 127-yard performace against Idaho in the 2001 opener, then 121 yards at Arizona...last year he had a season-high 118 yards at Utah, 101 yards at Arizona, 108 yards against Oregon and 113 against Washington...Minnich transferred from Mt. San Jacinto College last August to shore up WSU's thin running back stable and now is the starter with five starts under his belt...here's Minnich's career summary:

TURNOVERS: WSU is +6 in turnovers after four games...last week Arizona turned the ball over four times and WSU just twice...WSU has picked off nine passes and two of the opponent's seven fumbles...here is WSU's turnover summary since 1994:

WSU'S SACK ATTACK: WSU's defense has racked up 15 sacks this season, including seven sacks at Boise State...the seven sacks against BSU is the most since the 1994 club recorded 10 in a 21-7 win over Oregon in Pullman...the school record is 48 sacks in 1989.

PRICE FIRST IN WINS AND YEARS IN PAC-10: WSU coach Mike Price is now first among current Pacific-10 coaches with 113 wins... Arizona's Dick Tomey had been the Pac-10 leader with 158, followed by ASU's Bruce Snyder with 126, then Price, but both Tomey and Snyder have since left their respective schools...Price, in his 13th season at WSU, is also the Pac-10 leader in consecutive years at the same school.

MIKE PRICE AMONG WSU'S BEST: Only two Washington State football coaches with tenure of five years or longer at WSU put together a better record than Mike Price...Price, in his 13 seasons at WSU, is 67-73-0 (.479), while his career mark is now 113-117-0...Babe Hollingbery was 93-53-14 (.625) during his 1926-42 (17 years) tenure and Jim Sutherland was 37-39-4 (.488) during his eight years, 1956-63...Price's 67 wins at WSU ranks second to Hollingbery's 93...Jim Walden is third with 44 victories.

NOTHING LIKE HOME: The Washington State Cougars perform much better at home than on the road during Mike Price's 12 year tenure...at home the Cougars are 36-30 (55.4%) and on the road the team is 31-43 (41.9%)...WSU's 6-0 home record in 1997 is the best ever for the Cougars:

GESSER TURNS IN THIRD BEST PERFORMANCE:Jason Gesser's 432 yards passing against California was the third best performance ever by a Cougar QB...Drew Bledsoe's 476 yards against Utah in the 1992 Copper Bowl is the WSU record, while Ryan Leaf threw for 447 yards against ASU in 1997.

GESSER THROWS FOR TD RECORD:Jason Gesser threw six touchdown passes at Arizona last season, the most ever by a Cougar quarterback...his record setter was a 19-yard pass to Nakoa McElrath.

GESSER'S NATIONAL RANKING:Jason Gesser, through four games, ranks seventh nationally in total offense at 301.5 yards per game, eighth in pass efficiency at 165.19 and tied for eighth in points responsible for at 18.0.

WSU INCHES UP NATIONAL POLLS: WSU's 4-0 start is beginning to catch the attention of voters in the national polls...WSU is 29th in the Associated Press poll of writers, while the Cougars are 33rd in the USA Today poll of coaches...WSU was last ranked in 1997.

GESSER'S 432 A CAREER HIGH:Jason Gesser threw for a career high 432 yards against California earlier this season, the third best passing performance in WSU history...his previous high was 348 yards against Arizona in a 2000 triple-overtime game.

GESSER STREAKS HIT 130, 64 PASSES:Jason Gesser threw 130 straight passes without an interception over five games early in 2000 before being picked off in the fourth quarter at Tucson...early this year Gesser had a streak of 64 straight snapped against California when the receiver fell down, leaving only the defender to pick off the pass.

GESSER PUSHES CAREER TOTALS:Jason Gesser now ranks ninth on WSU's career lists for passing, 3,625 yards, and eighth in total offense, 3,810 yards:

GESSER PLAYS IN JUST 19 GAMES: WSU junior quarterback Jason Gesser has played in just 19 games, starting 14...here's Gesser's career game-by-game stats:

SCHEDULING: Coaches often talk about whom an upcoming opponent faces the week before or the week after the two teams collide...here's a look at WSU opponents and their schedules before and after meeting the Cougars:

COUGS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS SINCE 1995: Last year WSU was 0-4 against ranked teams, losing to #22 Arizona (47-53, triple OT), #18 OSU (9-38), #7 Oregon (24-27, OT) and #6 Washington (3-51)...WSU did not meet a ranked team in 1999...in 1998 WSU lost to No. 4 UCLA, No. 15 Oregon and No. 10 Arizona...in 1997 WSU defeated No. 22 USC and lost to 21st ranked ASU...unranked at the start of the season when WSU won, UCLA finished the year ranked seventh...in the final game of the year, WSU lost to co-national champion Michigan...in 1996 WSU lost at No. 5 Colorado, defeated No. 25 Oregon and No. 19 California and lost to No. 12 Washington...WSU, in 1995, suffered losses to three nationally ranked teams: at No. 2 Nebraska, at No. 5 USC and at No. 12 Oregon.

COUGS GO MARINES: While looking for a few good men, the WSU coaching staff discovered the Marines...a pair of WSU players are former Marines, Wendell Smith and Dave Minnich...Smith, from Spokane's Gonzaga Prep, joined the Cougars in the fall of 1999 as a freshman after four years in the service...last season WSU brought in running back Dave Minnich from Mt. San Jacinto College...originally from Stonington, Conn., Minnich spent four years in the Marines before going the jaycee route.

COUG O-LINE AVERAGES 286: WSU's offensive line weighs in at a collective 1,430 pounds, or an average of 286 pounds...the heavyweight of the group is Phil Locker at 305 pounds, followed by Josh Parrish at 296 pounds...next is Derrick Roche at 281, followed by Joey Hollenbeck at 277...center Tyler Hunt weighs in at 271, the lightest of the group...last year's O-Line averaged 288 for much of the season.

WSU EXPLODES IN FIRST FOUR GAMES: WSU has scored 176 points in the first four games of the 2001 season, the most ever in the opening four games...in 1988 WSU scored 165 points in the first four games, while in 1996 the Cougars scored 164 points and in 1997 it was 158 points...WSU's point margin through four games is 108 points, or 27 points per game...the Cougars are also averaging 515 yards per game with a total of 2,060 yards, the second most ever by WSU in the first four games...WSU's 1988 team holds the record with 2,246.

COUGS SCORE OFTEN: Since 1980 WSU has averaged more than three touchdowns a game, currently boasting an average of 25.5 points per outing...the following is a breakdown of WSU scoring by season since 1980:

WSU ON THE ROAD AT HOME: In years to come it may be a trivia question - When did the Cougars play on the road at home?...Sept. 18, 1999 Idaho was officially the home team and the Cougars were the visiting team, complete with white uniforms...and ditto Aug. 30, 2001...Idaho currently uses WSU's Martin Stadium as their home field in an effort to qualify for NCAA D-I status.

ROAD WINS: In Mike Price's 12-year WSU career, the Cougar road record of 3-2 in 2000 marked the first time the Cougs had a winning record on the road and did not go to a bowl game...WSU was 4-2 on the road in 1992 and played in the Copper Bowl...in 1994 WSU was 5-2 on the road and played in the Alamo Bowl...and in 1997, the year of the Cougs' Pac-10 title, the team was 4-2 on the road.

WSU SECOND IN PAC-10 DEFENSE: Since 1992 WSU has been in the top half of the conference in defense all but twice (1992, 2000)...the Cougs won the defensive title in 1994, allowing 229 yards a game, the best average in the league since 1982 and the second best since 1971...in 1993 and 1997 WSU's defense was ranked second in the Pac-10...here's how the Pac-10 defenses rank, 1992-2000:

RUSHING TOTALS UNDER 100: In the last nine years WSU has held 38 of 95 opponents to less than 100 yards rushing...the lows include Montana State's -35 and Pacific's -6 in 1993 and Montana's -6 in 1995...in those 95 games, WSU held opponents to 50 or less yards 12 times:

WASHINGTON STATE SINCE '89: The Washington State Cougars have won 67 games since the start of the 1989 season, the year Mike Price took over the coaching reins at WSU...here's a look at the records for Pac-10 teams, 1989-Present:

100-YARD RUSHERS FEW: Only 33 running backs have been able to crack the 100-yard mark in the last nine years and 95 games against WSU's defense...UCLA's Skip Hicks and Reuben Droughns from Oregon are the only backs to have done so in back-to-back seasons.

NOTE: WSU's starting offensive lineup usually includes three wide receivers (as noted above) and one running back, but can include four wide receivers, usually without the tight end, or five wide receivers without a tight end and running back.

NOTE: WSU-Colorado game number 3 cancelled and replaced with Montana State as game number seven.

MIKE PRICE TV SHOWS: "KXLY Cougar Football Saturday" airs each Saturday during the football season at 12:00 p.m. PT, leading into ABC's Pac-10 Game of the Week...Rick Lukens, Dennis Patchin, Mike Boyle and Bud Nameck host the shows...FOX Sports Net Northwest's nightly (7:00 p.m.) Northwest Tonight program also gives extensive coverage to Price and Cougar football.

WEEKLY WSU PRESS CONFERENCES: WSU hosts a weekly press conference each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Media Information Conference Room, Bohler Addition 195. All in-season head coaches and selected players (when available) will be available for the phone conference and in-person interviews. Contact the WSU Media Information Office for more information. Members of the media may attend in person or participate by use of the telephone.

LISTEN TO COUGAR GAMES ANYWHERE: Cougar football fans can listen to the Voice of the Cougars Bob Robertson's broadcasts, even if a network station is not in your locale. TRZ Sports Service Inc.'s "Teamline" provides the hookup directly into the Cougar Sports Network. Call 1-800-846-4700 and punch in the Cougar access code 5938. The cost is charged to your VISA or Mastercard.

LIVE TELEVISION: Pac-10 television action Saturday, Oct. 6, will include USC at Washington on FOX at 12:30 p.m. and Oregon at Arizona on FOX at 7:15 p.m. ABC TV is not televising a Pac-10 game Oct. 6.

FSNW-TV: FOX Sports Net (Northwest) will air a full-game replay of the WSU-Oregon State game...airtime will be Sunday, Oct. 7, at 10:00 a.m.

AUDIO ON INTERNET: WSU's football broadcasts are now available on the Internet through FansOnly, WSU's Web provider...the address is: http://www.wsucougars.com.

WSU RADIO: Bob Robertson, Jim Walden, Jeff Aaron, and Bud Nameck combine talents on the 24-station Cougar Sports Network. Robertson is in his 35th year of broadcasting Cougar sports, while Walden, a former Cougar head coach (1978-86), is in his first season as a Cougar broadcaster. Broadcast time is 60 minutes prior to kickoff. Additionally, the one-hour "Mike Price Show," produced and distributed by Learfield Communications, airs weekly on most network stations live Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.. Robertson is the show's regular host...all broadcasts are available via the internet. To listen, and for complete broadcast schedules, connect to wsucougars.com.

PRICE AND PLAYERS AVAILABLE: WSU head football coach Mike Price is available for individual media interviews 11:00 a.m.-Noon Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (except prior to road games). Arrangements for Price interviews must be made through his office, 509-335-0250. WSU players are available for interviews before and after practice each Tuesday and Wednesday and before practice each Thursday. Contact Jason Hickman at the WSU Media Information Office.

PRICE PHONE CONFERENCES: Mike Price is available for media interviews three times weekly via a conference phone hookup, Sunday at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and Thursday at 2:30 p.m. For access information contact the WSU Media Information Office.

TICKETS: Tickets for all Cougar home and away games are available through the WSU Ticket Office, North 225 Grand, Pullman, Wash. 99164-1910, or by calling 800-GO-COUGS (available toll free from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).